The Ghosts of Christmas Past
by GraceBe
Summary: Erin, David and Jason are trapped in a lonely cabin. Will love find its way? Last chapter added. Part 3 of the "Three's a crowd" series.
1. Chapter 1

_Here's the promised sequel to "The two who didn't get away". I hope you'll enjoy the final installment in this canon and I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving. _

Disclaimer: I don't own anything... bla bla bla...

**The Ghosts of Christmas Past – Chapter 1 **

Erin Strauss felt a little scared as she stopped the car and pulled out the key. It was a dark night, quite cloudy and she had heard in the weather forecast on the radio that they were possibly getting more snow than they already had.

Now she was a bold person. It was cold, the smell of snow lay in the air and she drove up to a lonely cabin that was hidden in the woods to meet a man. The idea anyone could find out about her secret meeting drove her almost crazy. Since Max had seen Erin with David a few weeks ago, he had made her life a living hell and she had hesitated before she had agreed to follow the invitation, but Gideon had called and he had asked her to come. For old times sake. That's why she was here, wasn't it? Jason Gideon.

She hadn't seen him for months and life at the BAU hadn't become easier without him. She missed him and she hated his replacement. David Rossi enjoyed teasing and torturing her ever since he had returned to the FBI and starting an affair with him wasn't something she was proud of. As much as she had enjoyed the sex and the excitement, it was still the most stupid thing she had ever done. She had finished it in her own nasty way, but it didn't feel as good as she had imagined it. She wasn't really free of him and that worried her more than she was willing to admit.

Maybe an evening with a really good friend could help healing her wounds. She knew there was no chance in hell, Jason would come back to the FBI, but maybe he could remind her about how easy life could be – without David being around.

She drew a deep breathe, grabbed her purse, and slipped out of the car. On the porch she was welcomed by Rudolph and its glowing red nose and soft Italian music that reached her ear, and through the window she saw burning candles on the table and an opened bottle of wine.

Erin smiled. That was Gideon and Gideon was special.

Freezing, she knocked, leaned against the door frame and waited. Then she heard steps and the door opened.

"Ho ho ho..." her voice died at once and her face lost its smile when she saw who stood in the door. Maybe she was trapped in a nightmare – or life was indeed a calculating, evil bitch. David Rossi. The man was her curse.

"What the hell..."

"I told you, she would be pissed, when I open the door," Rossi said over his shoulder. "Come in, Erin. It's cold out there." He said with demonstrative boredom.

Erin remained where she was, stood perfectly still while she stared at her sworn enemy. "What is going on here?" she asked, ready to turn on her heels and leave this place with stirring wheels. Rossi didn't bother to answer. He just grinned at her. She really hated it when he grinned at her like that. It reminded her about how weak she'd always felt in his arms. It was this sweet weakness every woman needed and enjoyed when she shared it with the right man and there was the problem. He wasn't right for her and he wasn't good for her.

"Hi Erin." Jason Gideon appeared behind David, drying his hands in a kitchen towel. At least Jason was here as well. "Believe me, you wouldn't be here, if it weren't important. And now come in. It's really cold out there."

She wasn't convinced following both men inside the cabin was a wise thing to do. Not that she was scared of them, but what would Max or the rest of the world say if they learned through the grape wine that she had been meeting two male colleagues in this lonely place?

"Erin!" Rossi sighed and she was rolled her eyes. "It's cold outside!"

"Oh well..."

"I love women who know how to make up their mind."

"Shut up."

Both men stepped aside so that she could enter the cabin. A pleasant warmth caused by the fire in the fireplace and the smell of a delicious meal welcomed her, but she had no intention to pretend she wasn't angry for their obvious betrayal.

"This isn't your cabin?" she asked Gideon, her arms crossed over chest.

"No. It's Rossi's... I just told you, I bought another one, because we feared you wouldn't show up when you knew it was his cabin and he was here as well."

"You're so wise," she said and let herself fall on the couch at the fireplace. Crossing her legs, she glared at Jason, grateful Rossi kept himself busy in the open-plan kitchen across the room.

"Don't you look at me like this," Gideon said defensively. He had forgotten how scary she could be when the Strauss look graced her beautiful features.

"And why not? I thought you wanted to see me... just me, without the scumbag!"

"Hey, the scumbag cooks for you tonight. You better be nice to him!" Rossi yelled and opened an oven to take out a baking tray.

"He's cooking all by himself? Heaven help us. I leave!" She attempted to rise, but Gideon gently pushed her back in place.

"Listen, Honey... this is serious. We have a problem and this is the only place where we could meet without being seen. You know, the last time the three of us met, we had a witness and that caused us a lot of trouble..."

It took a moment or two before she knew who Gideon was talking about.

"Stacy?"

"Tracy."

"Whatever." She wasn't in the mood to talk about the kid. She wanted to go home, far away from Rossi and his food.

"Dinner's ready!" Rossi yelled, placing the plates on the table. Erin rolled her eyes. She tried to picture herself sitting at the same table with David and Jason, eating a self cooked dinner. How incredible domestic and perverse at the same time.

"Come on, Erin..." Gideon gave her a warm smile that she didn't return. "You'll be grateful to us once you know why we outsmarted you." He offered her his hand. She ignored him and got on her feet. She could be at home, laying in her bathtub. She could listen to a Jazz CD and have a glass of wine. She could do all the things she never did when she returned home...

"I already regret being here."

**~tbc~ **

**Comments are highly appreciated!  
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	2. Chapter 2

_Can't believe I'm back in the world of world wide communication after being offline for almost two weeks! Here we go with the next chapter. Enjoy and thanks to everybody who read, reviewed and alerted this story! _

**Ghosts of Christmas Past – Chapter 2 **

**Two hours earlier **

Jason Gideon was not happy with the arrangements for the evening. He didn't trust David Rossi. Not with his life at least. And allowing Rossi to cook was not also a life tiring decision but also a life shortening one, if he wouldn't supervise him. The dead, naked chicken next to him on the kitchen counter spoke volumes about the ugliness and shortness of life.

Right next to the kitchen lay another proof of his theory and Jason already knew he didn't like it. It was one week left to Christmas, but this late afternoon felt like Halloween. The snow in the woods and the reindeer on the porch didn't reduce the insanity of of this meeting and Rossi's mission to get to the bottom of Erin Strauss' secrets.

"This must mean a lot to you since you've done all the effort," Jason remarked while he was opening a bottle of red wine and started to fill the two glasses on the table.

"What effort?" Rossi asked. Jason shrugged.

"Searching for me, asking me up here, killing this innocent chicken..."

"First of all," David explained, as he placed some wood into the fireplace, "It wasn't hard to find you. Erin has your cell phone number in her purse and asking you to come up here hasn't been the worst thing I ever had to do. And the chicken was already dead when I bought it."

"You searched her purse?" Gideon asked, sounding accusingly.

"She was asleep and I needed a tissue... her calender opened accidentally when it fell onto the floor."

"I see." Gideon wasn't convinced, but hey it wasn't his purse and as determined as Rossi appeared tonight, Rossi would have done anything to get what he wanted. Jason could even understood Rossi's motivation. The man was some kind of enigma and unpredictable. Maybe that was the reason Erin had always been fascinated by him, though she would never admit it.

"You're searching her personal belongings and you really ask yourself why she has stopped seeing you?"

"Forget about the purse," David said annoyed. "One night she's all over me, and the next day she pretends not to know me any more. And I need to know what's going on with her. She behaves like..."

"Always?" Gideon joked. He had no idea why David was actually asking himself why Erin had decided to ignore him. Though it didn't really hurt to know that she had had an affair with Rossi, he felt slightly jealous when he pictured them together. Some things just never changed.

"Well... no... I can see something is bothering her. I just can't put my finger on it. You're the only one who can help me with this. There are so many things left unsaid between Erin and me. She trusts you... " The rest remained unsaid.

Gideon promised himself to mark the day in his calender. Rossi had never paid him so much credit. The man was really desperate, but Jason wasn't in the mood to play referee.

"And why?" Gideon asked, after he had taken a first sip of the wine. "I haven't talked to her in months."

Rossi scoffed upon Gideon's statement.

"Because you're her best friend. I'm just the guy she used to fuck once a week. She'll never give me a honest answer, if I ask her. But she would tell you anything!"

Jason sighed wearily. He had seen it coming from the moment he had heard Rossi would return to the BAU. The two were a psychiatrist's dream and they kept involving innocent people like him into their mess that was now lasting for more than 20 years.

"Don't be ridiculous. Why don't you talk to her and ask her if your suspicion is true and if that is the reason she's stopped seeing you? If she didn't kill you all those years ago, she'll hardly kill you now."

"Because she's avoiding me." Rossi repeated.

Jason couldn't believe his ears. "Her avoiding you never stopped you before. Her saying 'no' to you never stopped you before." He couldn't grasp the problem. If someone didn't fear telling the truth, it was Rossi. The guy had always had a big mouth and he never hesitated to speak his mind. So why was he starting to playing games now? Gideon eyed Rossi and asked himself if David knew how childish he behaved. Obviously not, as his answer showed.

"It's different this time... It's real this time... It's insane... she's never been more generous to the team, she even told Garcia it was okay for her to play computer games when we weren't working on a case."

Davids' eyes fell on the manuscript that lay on the kitchen counter between the bottle of wine and the chicken. "And I need to know if I'm right."

So far he had avoided it, but now Jason took the book and opened it where David had left a bookmark. Page 58 up to 61.

"You know that's insane, right?" He rolled his eyes after he had finished reading the first marked paragraph. "And why now? After all this time?"

Rossi shrugged. "I've been thinking a lot about my past with Erin in the last few weeks... It's possible."

"It's possible that you're even more narcissistic than I thought..." Shaking his head, he closed the book. "This really happened? Everything that's mentioned in the chapter?"

"Yep. Don't you believe me?"

Gideon sighed. "In a way you're disgusting and in another way you're a walking example of paranoia, Rossi. How am I supposed to know if this product of your writer's imagination is true or not? Who am I? Jesus?"

"No, no way, to mistake you with him, but you know her better than I do and I bet she told you..."

"Actually, she didn't. Believe it or not, I'm not her confessor. And now I know why."

"Understandable. I wouldn't tell you my secrets either." Gideon took the manuscript and laughed. "You just did, Rossi. You just did!"

* * *

Erin felt exhausted. The trip was long, the streets slippery because of the snow and her day had been anything but pleasant. She had been tip toeing around for over two weeks now, avoiding David Rossi in any way she could. To her dismay she had realized avoiding him was even more tiring than sleeping with him. Usually the guy was constantly on the road, chasing killers or reading his books in a front of under aged looking groupies. Now he was constantly in the office. She felt observed by him, because he seemed to be everywhere she went. Then there were moments when she wasn't sure if he even cared. She had feared he would protest when she told him to finish their sick relationship and so she had just stopped meeting him, without cancelling their last date. To her surprise he hadn't even tried to call her, hadn't ambushed her to demand an explanation.

Nothing, nada. No reaction. No seduction routine to get her back in his bed.

He behaved as if it nothing had happened. He dropped his usual sarcastic remarks about her when and wherever he could, but he hadn't bothered to ask her why she refused to continue their affair. His acceptance hurt, but she had asked for it and had received what she wanted.

The night she had realized it had to end one way or the other, had been when he and the team returned from a gruesome case in Arizona. It had been one of those days that she would never forget. First she had a long, explosive fight with her ex husband, because of their youngest daughter and her new boyfriend, and then Hotchner had sent her a message, telling her the case had been closed, but two members of his team had suffered injuries. Dr. Reid had a broken arm and Rossi had been attacked with a knife, but had been surprisingly lucky.

Her heart had stopped beating when she read the message and without giving it a better thought she had stayed at the headquarter to wait for the team to return. Dr. Reid had looked rather pale, but since he could walk and still talk like a endless book, Erin hadn't considered his condition as too bad. Rossi on the other hand hadn't been around. He was nowhere to be seen and she had been too proud to ask Agent Hotchner, if David had already gone home. She couldn't call him either. He would make fun of her, if she showed him how worried she was about him. And aside from that, once she started caring about his health, she would sooner or later iron his shirts or start washing his socks. No way, she was asking him how he was.

Then she had met him in the elevator...

_The doors slide open and there he stood, looking unhurt aside from a big bandage on the right side of his neck. _

"_David!" Her eyes performed a quick check on him. He was a bit pale and there was blood on the collar of his shirt. A lot of blood. _

_He smiled when he saw her. "There you are. I was searching for you!" _

_Stepping inside the cabin she didn't quite know what to say. She was a little overwhelmed to see him. She was relieved. _

"_Hotchner said you were fine!" She cupped his face with her hands, turned his face so that she could check the wound underneath the bandage. "What happened?" _

"_I am fine," he explained, chuckling. "The guy missed the artery. It's just a scratch!" _

"_A scratch?" she asked, gasping when she saw the long wound. "Do you have any idea how dangerous…" he took her hands into his. They were pleasantly warm and tender as they caressed the back of her hands. _

"_Yes, Doc. Now, don't freak out. I've survived worse injuries." _

_And she had seen worse, but yet she couldn't help to feel bad. Mortality scared her, especially the mortality of the people she cared for. Suddenly realizing where they were and what she was doing, she removed her hands and stepped back. The doors of the elevator were closed, but so far no one had pushed a button. For a moment an uncomfortable silence settled in. _

"_Will you go out with me tonight?" he asked. "I want to celebrate my survival." _

"_Are you sure you don't want to celebrate with your team?" she asked, deciding she still wanted to go home as soon as possible. She hit the button and turned away from him. The joy over seeing him turned into disappointment and anger directed toward herself. What was she doing? She was behaving like a... wife, a devoted lover. She wasn't any of this to him and she would never be. _

"_No, have you seen them? They're exhausted and they have a private life as well." _

"_And you can't think of spending this night with anyone else than your superior?" Erin crossed her arms over chest, hoping to look as cold as she felt. _

"_Actually not. Sad, isn't it?" _

_A cracking, incredible ugly sound reached her ear and the cabin stopped its ride. She struggled to keep her balance, but crashed first against the wall and then against him. Unerringly, his hands found her hips, stabilizing her and at the same time pressing her against him. _

"_Are you insane?" she asked, breathing heavily. The lights were still switched on, what meant that he had pushed the button to stop the elevator. Bastard. _

"_Maybe," he said lowly. "What's wrong with you?" _

"_Nothing." _

"_Nothing." He eyed her, now highly suspicious. _

"_First you make a fuss about my scratch and then you don't even look at me." _

"_Are you sure you don't have a concussion?" she snapped. _

"_Nope." He grinned back, groping her ass, a touch that could make her wild, when done with the right amount of pressure and damn he always knew what she needed. _

"_Believe me, every part of my body is in perfect shape." _

"_I can feel that," she replied between clinched teeth. It was evident against her thigh that the attacker had hit the wrong part of his body. _

"_Good." _

_Her back connected with the wall and his mouth with her neck. Her heart beat in her head, a defeating heat was rushing through her veins and she felt the shivers his tongue was creating underneath her skin. His hands found the way inside her jacket where they found her breasts and touched them greedily through the silk of her blouse. _

"_I want you," he whispered against her skin. "I want to fuck you all night long!" _

_The man was really no poet, but that didn't matter to her. She wanted to fuck him as well. Desperately. She just wasn't sure why she wanted him so badly. _

"_Not here," she mumbled, before his mouth covered hers. _

Erin swallowed, as her memories played her a fool and forced herself to concentrate on the snowy road. She had spent the rest of the night and most part of the next day in his apartment and his bed, though she knew it was a terrible mistake. One that she would have to pay for.

~~tbc~~


	3. Chapter 3

_I know I'm bad, because I didn't update for such a long time, but I promise to post more regurlarly from now on. Enjoy the next chapter and thanks to everyone who reads. reviews and alters this story! Your comments, reflections and ideas are highly appreciated! _

**The Ghosts of Christmas Past – Chapter 3**

**2 and half hours later **

Erin forced the meal down her throat without losing a word. Rossi was indeed a good cook but she would rather die before she complimented him on the pasta or the chicken. Instead she just listened while Rossi and Gideon were chit-chatting like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in 20 years. If her memory didn't betray her the last time the men had met they were beating the crap out of each other, but she was willing to admit that she was the most insane person at the table, just because she hadn't run away yet.

"More wine, Erin?" Rossi asked, showing her the bottle. The red wine was delicious, but she wouldn't drink one sip more than she already had. She had the feeling that she needed a clear head to survive this evening.

"No."

She had been avoiding him the whole evening. She hadn't looked at him and hadn't bothered to react to his stupid jokes. Of course, he couldn't know the real reason for her behavior, but she had decided it was best that way. The man was maybe a good profiler and understood how killers ticked, but time had proven that he didn't know a thing about normal people, women in particular.

"Just tell me, why I had to come to this spooky place. I doubt it's because you want me to witness your newly found friendship."

"No, that's not the reason," Gideon cleared his throat and started clearing the dinner table. As he passed Rossi he secretly kicked him under the table, causing Rossi to bit his lips to keep himself from using a mean curse.

"We have a serious problem," he announced, pressed.

"So tell me... I'm dying from anticipation."

"No need to be sarcastic, Erin." Rossi said and took another sip from his wine, before he left the table as well. He returned with a manuscript and gave it to Erin.

" _'A night like this – A novel by Stacy Meller'_" she read with a wrinkled forehead. A bad feeling developed within her stomach and sneaked its way up to her brain where it produced a terrible thought. Tracy... Stacy... the girl… "She hasn't..."

"She has," David confirmed. "An old friend of mine who still works at the publishing house of her father gave me the copy. Read the dedication."

Erin opened the book, trying to read the first page. Damn, why hadn't she brought her glasses with her? _"To D – I wish I had never met you. To J – I wish I had met you earlier..._" she looked at Jason who avoided her piercing eyes and just stared into his red wine. "_And to E - you're everything I never want to be._ That sneaky little hoochie!"

"Now, you know why we decided to meet you up here," Rossi explained with a loud sigh. "It seems that Tracy has written a novel about our nightly adventure last summer. She has changed our names and she made us NSA agents, but everybody we know and reads this book will know it's about us."

"She named you Daniel Rossini, Jason – James Gilbert and me Erica Straw... how creative!" Erin rolled her eyes. "She's as creative as you're… Are you sure you aren't responsible for this?" Erin closed disgusted the manuscript. Pushing her glass over to Gideon, she demanded. "More wine!"

Rossi cleared his throat, as he moved in his chair.

"I read it last night... this piece of shit is filled with sex, drug abuse and a lot of other things I don't want to name here. She surely exaggerated the whole thing, but if our superiors read this novel, make the connection to us and believe only half its contents, your careers are toast."

Erin was still at a loss. "I don't understand this... we apologized... we sincerely apologized. We even bought her father a new Cadillac!"

"Well," Gideon coughed. "There's something else you should know..."

"What?"

"You know, a week after this whole disaster, she called me... she asked me to go out with her... which I did." The rest remained unsaid, but she knew the answer anyway. Erin closed her eyes.

"You slept with her."

"Yes..."

"Now she's going to blow..." Rossi remarked dryly when he saw Erin's eyes widen. He watched her closely, as the information settled and did its magic. She became pale, but seemed eager not to burst, as her gaze searched for Gideon's. Leaning back as if he was about to enjoy a good movie he sipped his wine and let his eyes wander from Erin to Gideon and back.

"Don't look at me like that!" Jason said defensively. "You're the last person who can blame me for anything!"

"And what..."

"Page 58..." David pointed on the manuscript. "I can read it aloud for you, if you want," he offered, generously. "The contents of the book sucks, but the girl is indeed a great writer." He opened the book, but Erin grabbed it and closed it immediately.

"I don't care for her great writing. The question is what we can do to prevent its publishing!"

"Maybe the spirit of Christmas could move her... no creative ideas?" Jason asked.

"Can't you talk to her?" Erin turned to Gideon. "Since you know her so well, you can certainly knock some sense into her. The girl didn't look that stupid."

"You wouldn't say this, if you had read page 58," Rossi said dryly. "Give it a try!" He pushed the book into her direction, but she dismissed it with a quick wave of her hand.

"No thanks."

Rossi and Gideon exchanged a look. This wasn't going as expected. Not at all. Then Gideon gave it another try.

"So what do we do? Knives? Poison? Seeking an injunction?"

"What about a mixture of all three?" Erin asked and finished her wine.

"There's no such thing as the perfect crime, Erin" Jason reminded her. "I guess I could try and talk to her, but I doubt it'll help us. She hates us and with her book she has the opportunity to bring us down."

"Great, Jason, just great!" Erin threw her napkin on the table and rose from her chair. "Couldn't you just keep your pants zipped?"

Jason shrugged sheepishly. "Well, I tried to turn her down, but she was quite persuasive..."

Erin scoffed. "Persuasive! And I always thought Rossi is the one who can't resist a skirt... but you!" Then she gave him a long, sad look and added in a lower voice, "But I guess that doesn't matter who's responsible. If she publishes it, Max can finally ruin me!" she hit the cushion with her fist, as she sank down on the couch.

Rossi and Gideon exchanged an extreme puzzled look. "Max?" The whole story was getting a whole new dimension. They nodded at each other and Rossi refilled their wine glasses. Then they strolled over to the fireplace. Gideon sat down next to Erin and Rossi sat on the table so that she had to face him. Handing her the glass with red wine, he said. "Tell us what's wrong. You've been acting strange for some time now. I mean stranger than usual."

Erin stared into her glass, but resisted the temptation of the red liquid. She gave David the glass back.

"Oh, forget it! You don't care anyway... you guys are the nail to my coffin!"

Jason tried to touch her shoulder, but she rejected his consolation.

"Of course, we care... otherwise we wouldn't be here and aside from that... you only have us. Who else could you tell your problems?"

She gave Rossi a long, estimating look. The saddest thing was, that he was right. He was the very last person she wanted to share her problems with, but then who else did she have to talk to? Aside from that her problem with Max was not half as embarrassing as the way her heart ached when she thought about Rossi and the fun she was depriving herself from, because she couldn't meet him anymore. Not that she would admit it, but she had always had the smile when she returned home after their 'dates' and her youngest daughter had complimented her on the way the 'yoga lessons' let her inner beauty shine.

"Max wants to have custody for Bridget, my youngest. His lawyers have been bothering me for weeks. She's sixteen... and if he learns about this novel, he'll probably get her, even when Bridget states she wants to stay with me. He and his attorney will tear me apart and claim I'm an unfit mother who not only works 60 hours a week, but also sleeps with her co-workers... Any questions left?"

"Damn." Gideon leaned back and rubbed his face. "I'm sorry," he said, squeezing her shoulder and this time she didn't try to avoid his touch. "What is he thinking?"

"He's thinking that now that he has a new wife and a new baby he can make up for the last few years, in which he basically ignored Bridget. He wants to play happy family and he wants to hurt me, but I tend to agree that hurting me isn't the main target of his plan. He just wants Bridget for himself."

Jason became furious. He had never liked Maxwell Strauss, but this time the man had overdone it. He rose and started pacing the room.

"He had a lot of time to take care of his daughter. It's a little too late to play Daddy!"

David on the other hand remained silent. He felt a little guilty, because it was possible that Erin and he had pissed off Max and his wife a few weeks ago had added to Max' plan to hurt his ex wife. It never occurred to him, Max could even consider to step so low and take Erin's daughter away from her.

Bridget.

He hadn't seen the small and cute brown-eyed girl with Erin's features since she had been a little girl who loved to visit her Mom in the office. He remembered she had once sneaked out of Erin's office and he had met her in the elevator. He had instantly falling for her carefree nature and her laughter and had suddenly missed the Erin he used to know as a student. Holding Bridget's hand as he had brought her back to her mother had made him wonder how it would be to have children on his own.

He felt Erin's eyes on his and returned the gaze, silently asking her, if her fear to lose Bridget was the reason she had stopped seeing him.

"Rossi, we have to talk!" Jason rose and ordered Rossi with one wink to the front door.

"What..." Erin, alerted by Jason's move, pushed herself up.

"Please, Erin... stay here. We'll be back in a minute."

Much to David's surprise, Erin obeyed and sank on the couch. What he didn't notice after he followed Jason outside was how her eyes fell on the lonely, but tempting manuscript on the dinner table.

"And this is the point where we stop!" Jason whispered eagerly. "She's already down and I refuse to continue this stupid charade. We go back inside and tell her the truth!"

"No, we won't."

Jason was aghast. "What?"

"But can't you see how nervous she is about this?" Rossi asked. "This could be the moment I've been waiting for!"

"Are you insane? Haven't you heard her? Max is trying to take Bridget away from her! This isn't about you or your sex-appeal or your ego! It's about her daughter!" Jason narrowed his eyes, ready to break his bargain with Rossi. "No more games or stupid lies. You're going to tell her the truth!"

"Not yet," David insisted. "First I need to know if I was right!"

He saw a vein appearing on Jason's forehead. Experience told Rossi, that Jason was close to punch him, but he was ready to hit back. David felt it in his bones, tonight was a night of truths and Jason wouldn't stop him to find his very own truth.

Jason closed the distance between him and Rossi until the tips or their noses almost touched.

"Let me explain is in the most easy way possible," Jason hissed. "This isn't about you or your assumptions. You're going back in there and you'll tell Erin that you wrote this piece of shit all by yourself and that Tracy…."

"Stacy."

"…. Has nothing to do with it and that I never slept with her. The manuscript will never find its way to a publisher, because it's nothing but bullshit! And when she asks you why you did something nasty like this – and believe me, she'll ask you after she punched you - you'll tell her the real reason and if you're lucky she won't kill you!"

"Sorry, man, but I can't do this. Not before..."

He never finished the sentence. The front door opened and Erin appeared in the frame, the manuscript in her hand.

Without further warning she threw the book straight into his face. David yelled in pain as the book hit the back of his nose. Hitting his foot with her heel on her way to her car, Erin refused to pay another look at him or Gideon. She just wanted to escape.

"Erin! Wait!" Jason yelled in an useless attempt to stop her. Erin slipped into her car without removing the snow from the windshield and started the engine to leave the cabin with stirring wheels.

**~~tbc~~**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Ghosts of Christmas Past – Chapter 4**

**15 minutes later **

Erin raced down the street without considering the gruesome weather circumstances. She was driving too fast, the snow crystals hit the windshield, the wind was tearing at her car. It didn't matter. She was close to commit a murder. Her rage had found a new boiling point and snow wouldn't cool her off. Rossi had actually dared to lure her into a cabin in the middle of nowhere to play her a fool. He had even convinced Jason to play along! And why? Because he was a coward. A pathetic, ruthless excuse of a man who didn't have the guts to ask the questions he should, if the answer really mattered to him. On the contrary. He had the nerve to fake a manuscript in order to provoke her to confirm what had already become an inevitable truth to him. But she wouldn't play along. She wouldn't tell him what he wanted to hear. Not even if he held a gun to her head.

Right now she sincerely hoped he was dying from shame and ignorance or because he had caught the plague. She hoped it hurt. Deeply. As much as she was hurting right now. She wiped a tear from her cheek and bent over to search her purse for a handkerchief.

The deer in the middle on the street appeared bored as it noticed the flashlights of her sliding car. Hypnotized by the light it remained where it was. It didn't even blink when Erin tore the steering wheel around to avoid it.

* * *

_**Colorado – 17 years earlier**_

_Pissed with herself and the rest of the world, Erin lay in the bathtub and stared grimly at the ceiling. She was trapped in an unbelievable nightmare. She had never kept it a secret that she hadn't been happy with the idea to attend the conference so shortly before Christmas. And she certainly hadn't been happy when she had realized that instead of Jason Gideon, David Rossi would go with her to Colorado._

_And tonight Murphy's law had given her the rest. On their way to the hotel, Rossi's damn rented car had been stuck in the snow and they had had to walk. They had stranded in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but trees and snow. Her feet had never been so cold and she had never been so angry with him. A deadly combination. The cherry on the cake had been a so called shortcut (his idea) that turned out to be a dead end. The result had been that they had completely lost their way. _

_Rossi had detected the cabin after they had walked for almost an hour. Hidden in the woods the small house looked abandoned and after a short, but heated discussion that Rossi had won, they had broken into it like ordinary criminals. Fortunately, the cabin was much cozier and more comfortable than it had looked from the outside, but the next problem was the less than comforting supply situation: aside from some old cookies there hadn't been any food left and the dust bunnies gave away that the building hadn't been used for quite some time. At least the heating system worked and they had hot water. _

_Now she was in the tub and Rossi was just one door away. One damn door whose lock desperately missed a key. She felt defenseless as always in his nearness and could only pray he would leave her alone. It was an open secret that after his first marriage had badly failed (his fault), he was now engaged again with a tall dark-haired vixen called Sheila (her fault). But divorced, engaged or widowed, David Rossi would always be David Rossi, a ladies man. Erin was sure it was only a matter of time, before he would make one of his passes at her. And there was her problem. _

_Though most of the time she did her best to deny it, she had to admit to herself that David Rossi was still one of the most attractive men she had ever met. The fact that they shared a past of sorts didn't make it easier for her not to think of him as her ex-lover who just happened to be the best lover she had ever had. The random lack of intimacy in her own marriage didn't ease the situation one bit for her. _

"_I found some wood in the back of the house and lit a fire," he announced briskly, as he nonchalantly entered the bathroom. Erin froze, then she cursed him lowly. _

"_Don't you ever knock?" she asked annoyed and sank deeper into the tub, hoping the cream and the bubbles would cover her body. _

"_If you don't want anyone to come in, lock the door." _

"_There's no key." _

"_Oh." _

"_So you found wood, but no telephone, right?" she asked. _

"_No. Seems the guys who own this place want to be undisturbed when they're here," he said and sank on the edge of the tub. His eyes lay attentively on her and she felt the blood reaching her face. She told herself the reason was the warm water, not his presence. The first buttons of his shirt were open and the sleeve of his shirt were rolled up, revealing the muscles on his lower arms. _

"_Tomorrow morning we'll go back to the car and try to find a way to get back to our hotel. Don't worry, you won't have to spend Christmas with me. It's hardly my favorite holiday and it would annoy you when you had to sing your Christmas carols on your own and without a tree."_

"_I'm not worried," she lied. _

"_Just unhappy with the situation." He grinned and she scoffed back. The man and his way for conclusion never ceased to amaze her. _

"_I have children at home. Children that I promised to be home tonight to bring them to bed." _

_She closed her eyes, wishing she could relax, but she deep down inside, she was sure this nightmare would never end. There sat an attractive man on the edge of her tub, while her husband and her kids were sitting at home, waiting for her, probably worried why she hadn't shown up by now. She felt like scum, because she couldn't force her brain to think of Max instead of David Rossi, but she didn't dare to open her eyes either. They could speak out an invitation she would only regret later on. _

_Still watching her, David crossed his arms over his chest. _

"_They have a father as well. I'm sure Max can take care of them." _

"_Max is the kind of guy who thinks the kids don't need to be covered by blankets, because no one dies in a house with central heating. They'll catch a cold and sneeze under the Christmas tree and when annual Christmas madness is over, they'll be fine again and I'll sneeze." _

_Dave chuckled. "Sounds promising. I guess that's the reason I don't have children. They make our life unpredictable… or too predictable. It's a matter of perspective. Maybe you should really stay with me." _

_She frowned. She didn't like where this conversation was heading. When she heard him moving she opened one eye to steal a glance of what he was doing. He had his back turned on her and she couldn't quite see what he was doing. And then… she didn't want to know. _

"_If you don't mind…" she started. _

"_I do mind and now get up." _

"_Excuse me?" With both eyes open now, she stared at him, gasping. He was standing there at the tub, his arms spread, holding a white, big towel. _

"_The water is getting cold. The perfect time for a bath is between 13 and 21 minutes. You've been in there for almost half an hour. I thought you don't want to catch a cold?" _

"_Where did you get that from?" she asked, trying to buy time while she tried to think of something to get rid off him. _

"_The cold or the perfect time for a bath?" He asked and smirked, when she rolled her eyes in annoyance. _

"_Let's say I had the chance to read a lot of stupid magazines that try to tell women that they are only beautiful when they are 90/60/90. And now get out of this tub!" _

"_No." _

"_Do we really have to do this yes-no discussion?" _

"_Get out of this bathroom!" _

"_No." _

_They were staring at each other, both unwilling to give up, but the water she was sitting in was indeed getting cold and she knew he was a pain in the ass when he wanted something. He was persistent like a bulldog and had the patience of a snake that had carefully picked its victim and waited for its surrender. Why couldn't she be the snake just for once? _

_When she rose, she looked him straight in the eye. She didn't blink, didn't smile, didn't blush._

"_That's my girl," Rossi mused proudly as he wrapped the towel around her body. He was very close his hands moved up and down her back, rubbing the soft fabric over her heated, sensitive skin. _

_The erotic fantasy that inevitable developed within her head made her breathless and put an instant stop on every rational refusal that somewhere had to exist within her. With every inch he touched the glass walls around her crumbled. He dried her body as if he was celebrating a holy ceremony. He made sure the towel and his hands found their way to all her right places until she was willing to lose herself completely with him. _

_

* * *

_

**5 Minutes later**_  
_

"And you're really surprised that she throw that book into your face?" Jason asked. "After you described your little escapade in this cabin and several others in all their epic glory? She was married back then… and knowing her she wasn't proud of herself for what she did!"

"Proud or not," Rossi barked angrily. "I have the right to know, if Bridget is my daughter or not."

"Why didn't you ask her when you first heard she was pregnant?"

Jason already knew the answer, but hearing it from Rossi was necessary. The guy needed to realize that he wasn't as innocent as he claimed to. Indeed he was a little sheepish when he finally answered Jason's question.

"Sheila and I got married shortly after Christmas and after that we went for an extended honeymoon… When I returned Erin had been transferred to another unit. Her idea, as someone told me years later. I only learned about her pregnancy shortly before she gave birth to Bridget… I was in shock."

"And you never asked her, if maybe, possibly…."

David shock his head. "Sheila and I met Max and her in the theater some weeks after Bridget's birth. They looked so genuinely happy that the idea I could be the father appeared suddenly pretty ridiculous to me."

Jason didn't comment that. He leaned back in the couch and looked into the fireplace. Outside the wind became stronger and the snowfall increased. The flames flickered vividly. He thought of Erin and became worried.

"I'll call her… Look at the snow. The street must be a mess." He pulled out his cell and dialed her number.

"Busy," he mumbled. "I guess that means she's fine…" He looked up to Rossi who wrinkled his forehead.

One door away on David's night stand, on the screen of his cell phone the name _Strauss _was blinking. He had cautiously turned off the sound, because tonight he wanted to be undisturbed. After one minute the blinking died…

**~tbc~**


	5. Chapter 5

_So, this is the final chapter of this story. I had hoped to poast this before Christmas, but obviously, I didn't. I hope you enjoyed this a little. Thanks to everybody who read, reviewed and alterted this story. I appreciate your patience with my posting habits and my mistakes. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all a happy new year! _

**The ghosts of Christmas past – Chapter 5**

_2 minutes later_

Erin threw her cell phone on the floor of the car and cursed loudly. Damn Rossi. The useless asshole couldn't even answer his cell phone. The other, even more disturbing thought was that he had maybe seen her number and decided there was no need to take her call.

But it was her own fault, wasn't it? The man knew how to push her buttons and in the end she was the one who was suffering.

Thanks to him she had gotten herself into another priceless disaster. Her car was stuck in the snow. Aside from her jacket she had no blanket in her car and she highly doubted someone would drive up at this hour to pull her car back on the road. She could call the police and they would find out she was with the FBI… A federal agent who was stuck in the snow because she had been running away from a man and her past with him … Calling the police was no option. She would rather die, before she proclaimed herself a fool to the local authorities.

Disillusioned, Erin turned her head and stared outside. The storm grew heavier and the snow fall was so intense that her car was already completely covered by snow.

It was official, she would die in here.

Then she decided to get her cell phone back to make a final call. Maybe David Rossi, the Great, wouldn't listening to her, but his mailbox would for sure. Once she was frozen to death he could listen to her voice over and over again. Maybe in death she could give him the nightmares, he had given her since the very first day she had laid her eyes on him.

"Rossi? It's me… Erin Strauss, the woman who is sitting in a snow bank and prepares to die in here. So you want to know if Bridget is your child? After all those years you suddenly care if your ruthless behavior maybe have had consequences? If it weren't so sad, it could be laughable! I should hang up on you now and leave you alone with your questions, your fears and your stupid little novel… but you know what? I won't… I'll tell you the truth and then we'll see if you're really that invulnerable… Bridget is your child. Of course she is! And unfortunately I did a miserable job in raising her, because she's so much like you that it sometimes hurts looking at her when I come home from work, after I had another fight with you! She has your eyes and your way of pissing people off. She has the ego of the Etna and she can be wonderful and caring if she wants to. I have no idea how Max can be blind enough to think she's his daughter, but then he's never been the smartest cookie in the jar and that could be reason I fell for you, because you're just as stupid as he is!"

* * *

Rossi paced the cabin with growing uneasiness. He had a bad feeling in his stomach. Gideon had tried to reach for more then 10 minutes now. The line was either busy or she just didn't answer the phone.

"Get your clothes on!" Rossi ordered. "We're going after her."

Gideon smiled, ironically. "I see our father wanna-be gains a conscience. I'm impressed."

"Oh shut up! You know how she drives when she's angry… she almost killed all of us in Las Vegas when we chased this casino killer! Don't you remember your broken wrist?"

"Didn't she hit a traffic light?" Gideon asked, trying to remember the incident.

"Just one?"

Rossi grabbed his jacket and slipped into it. "Let's go!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jason ordered. "Do you really think Erin wants to see you now? Or ever again? I'll bet my car that she's already thinking about a way to get you transferred to Seattle or Kansas City!"

Dave shrugged, unimpressed. "Maybe she does, but that she won't be successful. She's tried that several times in the past and it never worked."

Gideon remained unconvinced. "You know what they say about women being in a fury… Tonight she's pissed off enough to commit a murder. Stay here, Dave… Give her some time."

"She's had time enough. 17 years to be exact," Dave insisted. "Just imagine Max is successful and gets custody for Bridget…" The only idea made him shudder.

"Well, he's her father in every sense that matters." Jason said calmly. "That's Erin's problem not yours. I agree Max shouldn't be responsible for a teenager just because he wants to hurt Erin, but even if Bridget is your child, you have no right to interfere. You were the one who decided you didn't want to know anything about this baby. Now stick to it."

David stared at Jason. His eyes were glittering. Jason could see the brain cells working in Rossi's head and hoped against hope, his friend would be sensitive enough to understand.

"You really think you're holier than the rest of us, don't you?"

Jason sighed. The man was a pain in a place that never saw the sun.

* * *

_25 minutes later _

"Shit!" Jason hit the brakes, knowing it wouldn't do any good. The street was covered with snow and underneath the snow was ice. Driving in this storm was a mission from hell. He could hardly see the road. It had taken him 5 more minutes to convince Dave to stay where he was. Just in case Erin returned to cabin on her own, what he actually doubted. He was quite sure that she hadn't made it back to town and he sincerely hoped, she had been reasonable enough to stop the car and wait until the worst was over.

"And diamonds are just stones," he mumbled defeated and then he saw the car. It was stuck in a snow bank.

"Dammit!"

He stopped the car, jumped out and almost lost his balance when he hastened to Erin's car.

"Erin!" He yelled and tore the driver's door open which resulted in her almost falling out, because she had been leaning against the door. She screamed as he caught her before her head could hit the car door.

"You all right?" Jason asked, worried. A pain filled moan was the answer.

"You guys are really out to kill me, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry!" Jason apologized as he helped her out. "I thought you were injured or something like that."

"Don't worry, Jason. My wounds are invisible to you and your best friend."

"Let's go to my car. I'll bring you away from here." Phrasing it like this seemed the best way to get her with him. Erin hesitated, but her relief about being saved from a cold night in a stranded car, was stronger than her anger. At least for now.

Once she sat inside his car he gave her a blanket. "You must be freezing."

"I'm okay."

"Look, I'm sorry…"

"Forget it! Just bring me home."

Now things started to get interesting.

"You know I can't do this."

"Excuse me?" She hissed.

"You know I have to bring you back to him."

"No, I don't know that."

She fought with the blanket around her shoulder and tried to open the door, but Jason hit a button and locked the car doors.

"Do you think you're on a mission here?" Erin asked, leaning back into her seat.

"Not necessarily, but the two of you are giving me no other choice." He sighed wearily. "I know what Dave did was stupid… but it seems he was right with his assumption, wasn't he?"

Erin didn't answer. She just stared out of the windshield window, contemplating to count the snow flakes.

"You should have told him, Erin."

"He could have asked."

Jason laughed and started the car. "Heaven help us all."

"Jason, I swear, if you…"

"Yeah, I know… Fasten your seat belt. The road is a bit slippery."

* * *

_10 minutes later_

"I won't go in there!" Erin had her arms crossed over her chest. "Bring me home now or I'll never talk to you again." As promised Jason had taken Erin to Rossi's cabin. Rudolph was still bravely mocking the storm. His red nose glowed, showing Erin the location of the front door. A hint she dared to ignore with stubborn refusal.

"You'll go in there and you'll talk to me again." Gideon really hated to switch into his interrogation mode, but she left him no choice. The woman was a tough cookie, but he was tougher.

"Isn't it time to talk this out? Isn't it time to stop this insanity? He loves you, you love him, you have a child together."

"This isn't Love Boat, Jason and you aren't Clarence who needs a couple of wings." Erin reminded him bitterly.

"Right and that's what makes it interesting. And now get out of this car. Face your worse enemy and be honest with him and yourself just for once in your life!"

Erin didn't move.

"Don't force me to carry you inside."

"You wouldn't dare!" she glared at him.

"Want to place a bet?"

Losing a battle of wills was always bitter. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she had to face that Jason's threat wasn't an empty one. He would carry her to the cabin and since she had no gun with her, she wouldn't be able to defend herself properly. She knew he thought he was doing what was best for her, but deep down inside she was still convinced that David Rossi wasn't good for her. With him she always lost control and he ruthlessly abused that. How could that be good?

"I can't go to him. You know how he is… even if he has feelings for me…"

"Erin… I know you had no time to prepare for this, but I'm sure this ghost is haunting you for a reason. Dave and Bridget have both the right to know about one another and you should acknowledge that he's more to you than a seasonal flavour."

"How poetic."

"One of you has to make the first step and you're a reasonable person."

Erin gave him a long, ironic look.

"And now you're trying to make a fool of me. I can't say I appreciate your lies."

"It's not a lie if you believe it."

She risked a look at the watch in the cockpit. It was almost midnight.

"So?" Gideon asked.

"You'll live to regret this."

"I'm sure I will." Erin ignored the sarcasm in his voice and with a lazy push the passenger's door opened.

"In case you want to send me an engraved invitation for your wedding…" Erin kicked the door shut, without bothering to listen to the rest. She felt his shameless grin on her back as she went up the porch and passed Rudolph.

"Want to switch?" she asked the deer with the glowing red nose. "But he already has you wrapped around his little finger as well, hasn't he? Otherwise you would be at the north pole right now."

"You're talking to a faked reindeer with a red glowing nose." Dave already stood in the door, as if he had waited for her behind the door.

"Compared to you this faked reindeer is a source of solace and innocence."

"And what about Jason?" He stepped out and watched Gideon's car leaving the cabin.

"He's thinks he's Clarence," Erin explained coldly. "Waiting for his wings."

At first Dave didn't get the remark, but then he smiled. "And who are you? Scrooge?"

"You're the one who hates Christmas. Remember? I'm just someone who isn't sure that Christmas is as great as people claim it is."

She was freezing like hell and passed him. If she had to be in this fucking place, she could at least suffer inside of the cabin.

"So where did he find you?" Dave asked, after he had closed the door.

"In a snow bank. My car…" her voice trailed off. There was no need to mention the details. "I… Let's say I had a little accident. I almost killed Rudolph's little brother." She gave him her jacket and Jason's blanket.

"You had an accident? Why didn't you call?"

She looked at him, dumbfounded. He hadn't heard the call… he had no idea… sensing God had given her one last chance to get away, she lied, "No service. Must be the storm."

"And Gideon found you and brought you here?"

"Yes. As I said he thinks he's on a mission… so why don't you give me a lift back to the city and we forget this whole evening?"

Dave laughed grimly. "No chance, Strauss… you and I'll stay here until the storm is over. I don't have the intention to risk my neck to get you back to town."

"But I don't want to stay here."

"And I want a reason that keeps me from strangling you! And if you don't come up with something intelligent right now, you're in trouble, woman."

She couldn't believe it. "You want to strangle me? If someone in this cabin has a reason for murder it's me! What were you thinking when you made up this… novel?"

"I wanted to see your reaction."

Erin scoffed. "And they call you a profiler? Maybe I should have hired Doctor Phil instead of you!"

"You wouldn't enjoy him as you enjoy my presence in your life."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"That's all you have to say to me?"

"Yep." Erin turned around, her eyes searching for his cell phone. If she could find it, before he checked it, she could delete her message. The idea sent shivers down her spine. She wasn't lost yet… if he would only leave her alone for a while. Then her eyes came to rest on the fire.

"It's a little cold in here," she rubbed her arms, as if she were freezing. "And your fire is dying."

"Dream you."

"I'm talking about the fireplace!" she spat annoyed, when she saw his shameless grin.

"Oh."

Dave saw she was right. "The wood is outside. If Madame prefers it hot, she'll get her will."

"Thank you so much!"

The second the front door had closed behind him, Erin started to search the cabin. Since she hadn't seen the cell the whole evening, she assumed, he had it in his bedroom. She sneaked inside, but the room was dark and she couldn't risk to switch the lights on. She bit her lips when she her foot made painful contact with a chair. Then she opened drawers, doors, and checked the bed. All she found was a sleeping mask.

"Freak." Angry with herself she threw the mask back under the pillow and sighed.

"Are you searching for this one?"

Erin froze. Dave switched the lights on, reveling in the fact that he had caught her red handed. In his hand he held his cell phone.

"Funny… those things can tape hours of useless talk. Do you want to hear the latest message I've received?"

"I don't think so." She cleared her throat and prayed her face wasn't as red as it felt.

"You should. You could learn a lot about the woman on this tape, if you listened to her."

He approached her slowly, the finger on the keys of the cell. "I, at least, learned more than I could have hoped for."

"You really enjoy this, do you?" Erin asked, as she wrapped her arms around her body. She turned away, hoping she could protect herself from him if she didn't have to face him.

"No, I don't. Actually, I think it's rather sad."

"Well, that's at least something we agree on."

Suddenly feeling too tired for words, Erin sank on the edge of his bed. She was facing her Waterloo here and her last chance to escape had gone with the snow. She waited for one of his famous tirades, a mean remark or an insult, but he said nothing. David Rossi being silent was worse than David Rossi being mean and when she finally looked up, because she couldn't stand the tension any longer, she saw he was gone.

"David?" She couldn't say why, but her heartbeat increased. The fear, he could have gone was overwhelming.

"David?" she asked, louder this time.

"I'm in the kitchen."

Puzzled, she followed his voice and found him at the oven, busy with cups and tea bags.

"What are you doing?"

"Obviously, I'm making tea."

"Yes, but…"

"Drinking alcohol wouldn't be very appropriate right now, don't you agree?"

* * *

_20 minutes later_

Erin warmed her hands at the tea cup. She sat on the couch , her legs tugged under her ass.

She had no idea what time it was by now, probably after 1 a m, but she wasn't tired. She had prepared for a big fight with David. Had prepared for the worst, and he had made her a tea and had given her a blanket. Couldn't the man be predictable just for once?

She looked up and met his eyes. He sat in an armchair and watched her attentively. She was relieved that his eyes spared her the usual disgust.

"How do you feel?" he asked into the silence.

"A bit shaken… David, I…"

"Don't… no excuses, Erin. I won't apologize either. For nothing."

She nodded slowly. "Fair enough."

"More tea?"

"No thank you. This one is bad enough."

Dave bent his head back and laughed. "Maybe I have a better idea." He rose and circled the coffee table. He picked up one of the three remote controls and pushed a button. Dean Martin started singing.

"Baby, it's cold outside?" Erin asked with an arched eyebrow.

"It certainly is cold outside… Come here and dance with me," Dave said, offering his hand.

"Dance?" she couldn't believe it. David Rossi hadn't asked her to dance in decades. The last time they had danced had been in this lonely cabin. She remembered the glitter in his eyes when he had discovered the vinyl with some old Rat Pack songs.

"Yes. We've danced before."

"You know what you're asking for?" she asked, as she left her comfortable position on the couch and let him pull her into his arms.

"Actually, I don't, but does that matter right now?"

She returned his smile and leaned her head against his shoulder. In the background Dino kept singing, while Dave smoothly led Erin across the room.

17 years ago when they had been stuck in this cabin in Colorado, they had danced like this. Frank Sinatra had accompanied them with his dark voice and had manipulated them into forgetting about the world outside and the people who were out there, waiting for them.

"Where's Bridget tonight?" Dave asked after some minutes of silence.

"With her grandparents," Erin answered.

"Your parents?"

"Hm…"

She felt his lips on her forehead. A gender gesture she wasn't used to, but one she could imagine to receive more often from now on.

"You know I want to meet her sooner or later."

"I'm sure we can arrange that… sooner or later." They stopped dancing and Erin raised her head. Their eyes met.

"Give me some time."

"I will."

Then with one movement, he picked her up. A little scream escaped her throat, as he swirled her around and carried her to couch.

"What are you doing?" she asked, laughing.

"Seems I have to kill some time with you instead," Dave answered as he laid her down and kissed her.

* * *

_2 and half hours later_

"You've no tree," Erin complained lazily and yawned. They lay on the couch in front of the fireplace, spooning. Her index finger caressed his lower arm while her eyes were fixed on the flickering flames. It was after 4 a m in the morning and the storm had subsided.

"I haven't put up a tree in decades," Dave explained. "The reindeer is a big progress compared to my general Christmas attitude."

Erin chuckled. "And the reindeer sucks."

"Yes, it does."

He placed his hand on hers and intertwined their fingers. The last time they had been together like this, he had had to force himself to ignore the wedding band around her finger. This time there was nothing he had to ignore or fear for and he knew it would take him some time before he would get used to this new feeling.

"Promise me to get a tree… there's no Christmas without a tree… your daughter will want one as well."

"I'll think about it," he promised and kissed her temple.

"I better buy you one… first thing in the morning."

"I don't think so."

"Excuse me?" She shifted her position so that she could face him.

"First thing in the morning will be another round of making love right here on this couch and the second thing…" he kissed her. "Will be a long, extended breakfast."

"You're quite sure of yourself, aren't you?" she asked, cheekily.

"Oh yes."

A smile formed on his face as their eyes locked. "Are you sure you can stomach this grumpy old Scrooge over the holidays?"

"I'm unsure if I can stomach you for the rest of the year."

"You just wound me." He crooked his eyebrow, but she saw the amusement in his eyes and arched against him to steal another kiss. "Get used to it," she mumbled against his lips.

"I am used to it by now."

His hands slipped under the woolen blanket to caress her sides. "Stop tickling me!" she ordered, laughingly. "I'll kick you from the couch!"

He got hold of her wrists and pushed them over her head. Immobilized like this, she stopped fighting him and allowed him to kiss her. A sweet heat flooded her as his mouth found the way from her mouth down her chin and to her throat.

"No hickeys," she pleaded as he sucked the soft skin under her ear, but didn't mean it, because the feeling of his tongue on her skin drove her crazy.

"I can leave my marks somewhere else on you," he offered generously and let his mouth travel down her body.

The space on the couch was ridiculously small, but it didn't matter to them.

The right time, place or the circumstances had never really mattered to them. Not even the future mattered, because there was no way in hell this was going to be easy. But who could want something to be easy if there was so much more to explore?

_**The End**_

_**I know I said this story is the final installment of my Rossi/Strauss/Gideon saga. If you like to read more, let me know...  
**_


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